Introduction
Modern society is still grappling with the long-term repercussions of colonialism. In the 19th century, Western European powers such as France, England, and Germany launched a new period of imperial expansion in particular regions of Asia and Africa. Europe needed new consumer markets and raw materials in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution. Furthermore, these economic interests were supplemented by the desire to “civilize the savages”. An analysis of primary sources demonstrates how various historical actors interpreted imperialism during different periods.
Discussion
The first primary source is a traveler’s report on caliphates along the West African coast written in 1824 and 1826. The Sokoto Caliphate was a religious and military caliphate founded in 1804 that was conquered by the British and Germans in 1903 and annexed into the kingdom of Nigeria. The author is Captain Hugh Clapperton, a Scottish officer that toured the Sokoto city in 1826. He recounts his meeting with the Sokoto Sultan and experiences at the local market in Kano. Therefore, it is a member of the 19th-century elite British class writing about a region in the global south that would eventually be colonized.
Clapperton’s letter is generally laudatory of the Sokoto people and administration. He praises Sokoto hospitality, the Sultan’s probing intelligence, and the organization and wealth of their local market. He does not interpret Sokoto practices as inherently inferior to British standards and expresses no imperialist desire to conquer or reform the region. Even when discussing theology with the Sultan, Clapperton does not argue for the righteousness of Protestantism and evens admits his lack of knowledge concerning religion. This letter illustrates that territories in the global south were thriving, wealthy regions with an educated populace and well-regulated economic policies before colonization. Early travelers had not been inculcated into the imperialist agenda and thus did not perceive people of different races as inferior.
The second primary source is Macaulay’s speech on parliamentary reform in 1832. In the 1830s, Britain was at the height of its power and world dominance through imperialism and colonialism. Thomas Babington Macaulay was a British historian and politician that held various government posts and served in the House of Commons. He is credited for introducing Western-style education in India and supporting the erasure of local dialects in favor of English as the medium of instruction in all educational institutions. In this extract, he is expressing his support for the 1832 Reform Bill. It is a member of the elite addressing his peers in an industrialized country in the global north.
Macaulay assumes that the English language and way of life are intellectually and morally superior to the Indians’. He portrays the latter as incapable of literary, philosophical, or scientific thought because of the crudeness of their dialects. His point of view is extremely ethnocentric, and in essence he is advocating for ethnocide and the erasure of Indian cultural identity and linguistic heritage. Macaulay’s speech illustrates how imperial conquest is based on the assumption of Western supremacy and justified as a civilizing mission for the benefit of the oppressed.
The third primary source is an extract from Jules Ferry’s book, Le Tonkin et la Mere-Patrie, published in 1890. Jules Ferry was a French statesman and a republican philosopher who served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 1885. He was infamous for initiating the most aggressive French imperialist policy in the 19th century. Ferry argued that the enslavement of the subordinate races was crucial since it enhanced commercial development in their home country. This book is yet another example of an educated elite addressing his peers in an industrialized country in the global north.
Ferry argues that colonialism is the natural and inevitable progression of industrialization and the over-saturation of the European domestic market. In order to continue expanding its economy and keep profits from stagnating, Europe needs to export its goods abroad. Therefore, Western countries need to conquer new territories and create a new group of consumers. In contrast to Macaulay, Ferry presents imperialism as a purely economic endeavor, not an ideological mission. This book excerpt demonstrates that the essential motivation of colonialism is creating a market for surplus goods and generating wealth.
The fourth primary source is Phan Chu Trinh’s letter to the French governor-general, written in 1906. The French colonized Vietnam in 1877 and renamed it Indochina, pursuing a policy of assimilation and harsh economic, political, and civil exploitation. Phan Chu Trinh was a Vietnamese nationalist who believed Vietnamese liberation could be achieved by appealing to French democratic ethics and instituting educational reforms. He was the son of a rich landowner and benefited from economic privilege but was still perceived as a second-rate citizen because he was not a Westerner. Therefore, this letter is a member of the subjugated, local population addressing his colonizers in the 20th century.
Trinh criticizes the French for seeing Vietnamese people as savage animals that can be openly treated with contempt or even physical violence. Although the French espouse the ideals of democracy and see themselves as far above the local “brutes”, they feel free to insult and beat people merely based on their ethnicity. Furthermore, even though their initial mission was “civilizing” the population, all they managed to achieve was install a regime of terror and exploitation. This open letter is evidence of colonialism’s brutality and hypocrisy.
The final primary source is a book, The Mind of Primitive Man, written by the American anthropologist Franz Boas in 1911. In the 1910s, the United States became the richest nation in the world with an increasing number of immigrants. Eugenics became part of the public discourse as people grew afraid that immigrants would pollute the national gene pool. However, Boas opposed the idea of innate racial superiority and supported cultural relativism. In this chapter, he demonstrates that environmental, historical, and social factors play a larger role than biological disposition. This book is another example of an educated elite addressing his peers in an industrialized country in the global north.
Boas claims that each person believes that their culture is remarkable and superior to everybody else’s. However, no absolute truths exist, and the norms and values of one culture cannot be evaluated by the standards of another. Furthermore, there is no correlation between physical racial characteristics and mental aptitude. It is impossible to hierarchize cultures or races because each is equally valid from its own point of view. This book is indicative of a shift toward greater cultural equity and the end of the imperialist rhetoric.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these five primary sources offer valuable insight into how imperialism is justified, maintained, and ultimately dismissed. Early travelers who had not been indoctrinated into imperialism perceived representatives of other races as equals worthy of praise. However, as economic unrest incentivized Europeans to conquer more territories, governments justified colonialism by the rhetoric of the white man’s burden and spreading European “civilization.” They saw locals as savage animals, incapable of any intelligent thought. In the 20th century, cultural relativism became more widespread, and it was slowly acknowledged that no culture or race is inherently superior to another.